Simply Spelled
by Windona
Summary: Oh, the wonders of first year. Too bad Kagemaru decided to use a spell to make Haou appear. Now to undo it- and the key holders to figure out what's going on.
1. Once Upon a Day

**A new story; I know. I love this plot bunny, and I'm already making the second chapter. What do you guys think? Hope you like! **

**Oh. Uh, disclaimer. Yeah, I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I do own this story's plot line, though. This is a blanket disclaimer for the whole story.**

2/1=2

It all began with a nice, sunny day. The sky was a brilliant blue, the sea was just the right temperature, the air was slightly cool, and there was a small breeze every few minutes. No Seven Star Assassins today, no family problems that had to be dealt with. Even the teachers realized it was such a nice day and didn't give any homework. After three defeated Shadow Riders, everyone was feeling happy. It was a perfect day, as if nothing could go wrong.

Then again, you guys know all about stories. If it's a perfect day or a miserable one, then something bad is going to happen. And that is the obligatory cliché for this chapter.

For the mysterious leader of the Seven Star Assassins was plotting something. Since you all know him as Kagemaru, that is what I'll call him from now on.

"First Darkness is defeated and they get Fubuki back… then Camula defeats two key holders, but is defeated by him… and Tania defeats another Key Holder but is defeated by him. I have lost three Assassins and gained three keys. But they were all defeated by the same person! How do I defeat Yuki Judai? Maybe there's something in these books? Ah, here's the one. The one that helped me make Tenjoin Fubuki into my Assassin." Taking out the old book and a journal written by Fujiwara, Kagemaru looked at the notes and the book.

"Hmm… according to Fujiwara in his studies of Darkness, he discovered that there are two sides to the average person. Both complete opposites." Kagemaru thought on the information he had gained on all of the key holders. Yuki Judai was known for being friendly, loving duels, being a good duelist with a carefree and amicable personality. In other words, he was probably the one teenager on the planet who had a perfectly wholesome or lovable personality. Charisma made him a leader and drew people in, while his kindness and fun loving personality drew them in.

_If that is one side of Yuki Judai- and the other side has the opposite personality- then what are they like? Evil and cruel, self serving and serious. Ambitious, always perfect, and a conqueror. In other words, someone powerful and perfect for a Seven Star Assassin. With Judai's power, this person should be able to defeat all the other key holders. _

A menacing smile came upon Kagemaru's lips. Thanks to Fujiwara and a book on how to do these things, he knew how to defeat all the Key Holders quickly. All their cries of defeat would soon come.

"Don Zaloog! I have a need for some of Yuki Judai's hairs for a spell. One that will help us greatly." Kagemaru had placed the call two days ago. And by mail, he had received them with all the other necessary ingredients for the spell.

Too bad Kagemaru was wrong about the personality of Haou. Not completely wrong, but just enough error to count.

* * *

It was a simple spell. With the power of Darkness from the abandoned dorm, it was easy. Besides, reversing it would be near impossible. A small, simple spell that would make the three sacred beasts come to his hands that much more easily. Kagemaru briefly wondered if there was some kind of catch, but doubted it. By the time it was completed, it would have been midnight at Duel Academy with everyone asleep.

Everyone was.

Now, you must be wondering multiple things. How does the spell work, what's Haou's part in it, and all of those things. I bet you have multiple theories and have already inserted them into the story. For now, I must ask you to just drink the story in. For all will either be revealed at the end of this chapter, or at the beginning of the next one. I hope. For stories always take their own courses, and the writer must just follow the story, writing it down.

Ah. Now where was I? Or where was I going? Oh, right, to the perfect day at Duel Academy. It was just about perfect. Manjoume managed to control his urges to hit Judai on the head with a text book, hit him, or abuse Judai in any way. Fubuki seemed to be recovering so much more, and Kaiser was *gasp* less stoic than usual. Misawa was having many mathematical breakthroughs, and Sho was winning a duel with confidence. Hayato was drawing a beautiful nature scene inspired by this beautiful day, and all in all, life was great. There was an egg bread special where everyone had one for lunch, and for dinner fried shrimp was wolfed down by the bottomless pit Judai. However, all of this is getting boring for me so I shall move on the plot.

* * *

After the group went their different ways, all the Reds went to their dorm. It was peaceful and not an insult came from Manjoume's mouth. Mr. Rogers could have sang about that day, and everyone was reveling in the afterglow. Then the Ojamas appeared to Manjoume.

"Boss, something's wrong. There's a weird feeling in the air." Green Ojama had spoken.

"We don't know what it is, but it can't be good." Black Ojama commented.

"Be careful tonight Manjoume, please?" Ojama Yellow finished.

"Alright, alright! I'll place you on each wall in my room so if something happens you can alert me, ok?" Manjoume said. They were bothering him, but maybe if he did as they asked they would be less bothersome and keep quiet all night.

"Alright! We'll tell you when something happens!" Ojama Yellow said before they all disappeared.

"Manjoume-san, what did the Ojamas say su?" Sho asked.

"They're being paranoid." Manjoume said.

"That's unusual." commented Judai. Right then, Hane Kuriboh started talking.

"What did Hane Kuriboh say?" Sho asked. It was annoying walking home with three people able to see duel spirits and not being able to see them yourself.

"The same thing as Manjoume's Ojamas." Judai replied.

"What has gotten all the duel spirits all worried?" Sho asked.

"I'm not sure." Judai said with a trace of worry on his face. "Anyway, let's head back to the dorm! We can always talk with Asuka and the others in the morning to see if anything happened."

They all nodded and agreed. After a conversation like that, you just cannot have silence without awkwardness, so the ran back. Wind tussled Judai's hair as he won. Second place went to Manjoume, third to Sho and Hayato who tied.

At midnight, the spell came to Judai in the form of a gust of harsh wind. As that gust happened, however, a dream came to him.

* * *

~Dream~

Asuka, Manjoume, Fubuki, and another dear friend were dead. All his fault. Because he was there. Because they were his friends. He couldn't protect them, got them targeted. Sho said he was evil. Other friends left him. Week. Pain. Release.

Blank card. Kill people to make it show. Powerful card. Used to conquer and enslave most of the world. Use evil to fight evil. Shocked faces, eyes. Person in robe, Sho. Watching. Evil Heroes. Fear. Pain. Duel disks in lava. Hall of mirrors. Not serious. They entered and saw. Didn't succeed. Not going to listen. Listened right when they died. Person- ex friend- ran like coward.

Conquer more. Coward challenged him. Red false eye and comet. Life points both zero. Red eye on chest, surprise. Evil defeated.

Guilty. Should have fought evil.

Wake up.

~End Dream~

* * *

The stress of the rapid-fire dream caused Judai to be startled awake. Of course, dear readers, if you've watched the part of the anime where Haou rises, you know that was not a dream. For a moment, a hole in reality opened up to allow Judai to remember forward. However, an unnatural dream or a forward memory is easy to dissipate and not be remembered. So Judai went to sleep again, dreaming normal dreams. As the normal dreams came and went, Judai forgot about the future and the dream or forward memory disappeared forever. The magical gust of wind was over now.

But the effects weren't. Now for me to switch to 1st person, thus annoying everyone (myself included) to give a fuller view of what happened the next morning.

I woke up. Wait a moment. **I** woke up? Shouldn't I be in the back of his mind, where I belong? Opening my eyes, a quick glance told me several things. One, the itchy feeling on my back was grass, not the poorness of the Slifer dorms. Two, I was outside near a cave with banana trees around. Three, my other self wasn't there.

Walking over to a small, crystal clear lake with enough fish to feed me for a month or so, I looked at my reflection. Yep, yellow eyes. Obviously. It was a waste of time to even look at my reflection. Although why I was in my school uniform when last time I was awake I was wearing my pajamas, I did not know. That was troubling. I was constantly observing the world around me, watching through his eyes. I noticed multiple things that he did not. Asuka could have come to see Manjoume that first night to warn him, but chose Judai instead. The egg bread was specially ordered and cooked as a reward to the key holders. Some people in the school weren't who they seemed. And something was off about the head of the red dorm.

These things do not matter. I merely wanted to provide you with a sense of things. The message you must get is this: I am observant. I would notice if I walk in my sleep, or moved. I'm always listening, feeling, smelling. Even when the body is asleep, this part of the mind is awake. So a lapse of attention is surprising.

Looking at the direction of the sun, I realized that it was time for Yuki Judai to go to class. Concentrating, I tried to summon the other side of my mind.

It wasn't there.


	2. I Spy

Chocolate and Topaz

*Haou POV*

I realized I was hungry. Seeing as not eating would be bad, I decided to catch some fish and eat a couple of bananas. However, after eating half a fish and a banana, I felt full. Probably because there was two of me.

It was the only logical explanation. I couldn't find my other half, and the area around me had markings that further promoted my theory. The grass I had been laying on was significantly shorter than the grass in the surrounding areas. The mouth of the cave had a spherical mark on it where it was smooth. Banana trees were low on leaves while one a couple of feet away was much greener. A couple of half skeletons where the bones just disappeared, with no mark of a bit or being torn, further proved my theory.

Only magic could explain these oddities. It was either that, or someone was very skilled and had little sanity. Thinking back to information I had gathered while I- my other half- wasn't paying attention in class, I realized that calcium from the bones, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorous, and the other main atoms that make up a human body were missing from the surrounding area. Enough to make a person. My lack of ability to sense my other side was maddening, though. As was having to use a body without slowly gaining control. I picked it up in a minute, but it felt odd having to sleep, stretch, eat and drink.

Closing my eyes and concentrating, I used all my might to see through my other self's eyes. I did for a minute, but it was tiring. Frowning, I put a mark near the cave and remembered the position of the cave. It would be a good area for me to return to if I didn't solve this problem before tonight.

Marking trees in a pattern that only I would recognize as leading anywhere, I made my way to the Red Dorm. Going into my room, I realized that yes, Judai slept here last night. Carefully, I planned my next course of action. I would go to the library the normal way. Since most people would be in class, and those who skip don't exactly like to hang around the library, I would be fine.

Implementing my plan, I went to see if there was any information on the shadow realm, darkness, or anything related to any enemies I currently have. I researched for a while when Manjoume came in.

*3rd person POV-or whichever means I narrate. Never been good at POVs*

So we know what's been going on with Haou. Let's focus on Judai now, shall we?

He woke up feeling hallow. Something was off, but he couldn't tell. Hane Kuriboh didn't know either when asked. Brushing off the feeling, Judai went to breakfast.

Burned, crusty fish, and overcooked rice made a breakfast fit for a Slifer Red. But the table was silent in shock.

"Judai- aren't you going to finish that?" Sho asked.

"No- I'm full. Why? Do you want some?" Judai asked.

"Hallelujah! You're not stealing food off my plate." Manjome commented, dripping with sarcasm.

"Are you feeling well?" Sho asked, worried.

"Well, I feel a little hollow, but that's all. Come on, I'm not magically sick over night!" Judai said with a laugh. Sho and Hayato just stared, while Manjoume was smiling slightly.

"I guess you actually grew up somewhat." Manjoume said.

"You just hope that Judai will get sick for a while and you will get to tease him without detention." Sho commented.

"That's just a bonus." Manjoume replied. "Besides, it's probably just stress. Judai can't keep his own grades up, and we have to keep the remaining four Assassins from defeating the four remaining key keepers. Then there's the whole 'if there's another Camula' who will threaten the lives of our friends if we want to win. And if we all loose, the world as we know it could end."

"When you put it like that…" Sho hadn't really thought about the stress of being a key holder before, and that made sense.

Judai looked at his food. Then he looked up. "We'll defeat them! We're the best students of DA with a professor as a key holder as well!"

"Right!" "Yeah!" "We'll definitely win!" commented Hayato and Sho. Manjoume mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "Stupid slacker…"

The rest of the day went in a flurry of boring classes, Judai and Manjoume fighting with each other, and sleeping in classes. Then along came a free period.

Reminding himself of all the reasons to stress out about being a key holder brought him to the library. To see what he could find, what clues about what the other Shadow Riders could be. He was glad Camula was the last vampire: she was bad enough.

That's when he saw something that surprised him.

"Judai! What are you doing in the library?" asked Manjoume in shock. Judai? In the library? Is the sky falling?

"I'm looking up magic and spells that the Seven Star Assassins could use against us." he lied. Somewhat.

Manjoume walked over to look over Judai's shoulder and at the search. "That's a bit weird, isn't it? You're on a page with information on soul-splitting spells. Why those in particular?" Manjoume asked.

"Because it's a spell that could be used against us." Judai said.

Manjoume looked at the computer screen. "Huh. That's odd. For a moment, I thought your reflection had bright yellow eyes." Then he looked in the eyes of the person he thought to be Judai. They were gold.

Manjoume just stared in shock. "I- what- who-" Then he calmed down. Somewhat. "Right. Good joke, Judai. Act completely out of character and use colored contacts."

"Actually, I never had eye problems, nor have I ever owned contacts for theater purposes. Besides, do you really think that by my usual behavior I could put in contacts?" Judai-that-wasn't said.

"But- how-. Arg! Must be the stress getting to me." Manjoume said.

Judai-that-wasn't shrugged. "Probably it. You should rest so that you're prepared for the next Assassin when he or she comes."

"Ok. I'll see you back at the dorm." Manjoume said, confused.

"Alright. See you then." Haou said.

And Manjoume did walk home, and go into his dorm. Then he reflected on what he saw. Manjoume knew he had a grip on his sanity, and he had been dealing with less stress since Judai chewed out his brothers, and Manjoume beat them. He had slept well last night, so tiredness wasn't the problem. So what he saw was real. Yuki Judai had a serious expression, bright yellow eyes, and searched soul splitting spells. What did that tell him?

It told him that either Judai was very good at messing with him when he wanted, or that the Assassins were behind it. That's when the Ojamas showed up.

"So? Do you spirits know anything about that Judai who showed up in the library?" Manjoume asked in a low voice. Even though Judai, Sho, and Hayato were just coming home now, Manjouime didn't want any chance of overhearing.

"I don't know, Aniki. It felt like Judai-" Ojama Yellow started.

"But he seemed much more powerful and scary." Ojama Green started to cry.

Manjoume nodded. "Alright, you guys, get into my deck. I want to see something."

He opened Yuki Judai's door to find all occupants sitting on the floor. "Manjoume? What are you doing here?" asked Sho.

"I was just wanting to see what Judai found during his research." Manjoume explained.

"Huh? What research?" said Hayato.

"The research I saw him doing in the library during the free period between 6th and 8th." Manjoume snapped back.

"Huh? But Manjoume, I was dueling with Sho that whole period!" Judai pointed out.

"Oh. So that explains it…"

"Explains what?" asked Sho.

"The yellow eyes and weird personality." Manjoume indulged.

The three red-clad students on the floor looked at him with shock in their eyes. Then they calmed down.

"Yeah right. How could that be possible?" asked Sho.

Manjoume threw Sho a look. "I don't know. How is it possible that if you loose a duel to the Seven Star Assassins and it's a Shadow Game, then you go into a coma, the Shadow Realm, or become a doll?" Dripping with sarcasm, his point got through to those who understood sarcasm.

However, Yuki Judai was born hard headed.

"Manjoume, it's because if you play a Shadow Game, you bet yourself." Judai said.

_Somehow, that sounded wrong… _thought Manjoume.

"Sarcasm, remember? Anyway, it's not like magic is impossible. Probably another ploy by the Seven Star Assassins to weaken us or something." Manjoume said.

"Manjoume, you're just being paranoid. You probably have had too much stress from the Assassins." Judai said.

Manjoume shot him an incredulous look. "I know what I saw, Judai. So do the Ojamas. Eyes like that are hard to forget." Manjoume shuddered as he walked out. Who was that in the library, then? The question started to haunt him.


	3. Crossroads

**Windona here! And I forgot to give a disclaimer- didn't I. But it's pretty much assumed that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. I do own the plot, however. **

**Thanks to all reviewers! I'll update once or twice a week. Actually, the next chapter is almost done. **

**To those who are bigger readers of my other stories: My apologies, this plot bunny just works so much more and I messed up a chapter of one of my other fanfics. Well, until next time!**

Second Glance

Haou wasn't that worried about Manjoume. He would either dismiss it mentally, or not figure it out before the spell was undone. The important thing was that his enemies didn't know. Nor did Yuki Judai. Haou felt as if telling him wouldn't be a good idea. Not unless Haou needed to. Any distraction from fighting the enemy was a bad thing. Haou wouldn't let them gain any advantage. He may fight evil with evil, but knowledge was power. And without the knowledge of how to undo the spell, he could not be more powerful or store power.

That's what he was thinking when he was walking towards the Red Dorm to get to his place in the woods. The same path Asuka had been taking to see Judai, then Manjoume.

For those who are scratching your heads or think that she was dating him, I shall explain. First of all, Manjoume won't fall in love with her until after the 7th assassin is defeated. Secondly, he wanted to talk with Asuka about what he had seen at the library. He wanted to figure more out about that, and Asuka was smart enough to help him solve the mystery. Kaiser was to stoic to actually be reachable, and Misawa dismissed it as stress. Chronos-sensei was weird and crazy, while the Red Dorm head wasn't exactly normal or going to listen himself. So that left Asuka. Smart and willing to listen. Even more likely after this event.

It was small. It took five seconds. And I'm going to tell you what it is before shoes get thrown at me.

Haou was busy looking at his cards. Turns out that his deck changed with him, becoming an Evil Hero deck. Asuka spotted him up ahead, looking at his (in her opinion cute) backside.

"Judai! I was coming to see you! Want to walk to the Red Dorm together?" Asuka asked.

Haou turned around. Asuka put her hands to her mouth. _Such… cold, glowing eyes _she thought.

After seeing who she was, he jumped into the woods and ran through.

_Did she see me? If she did, then this may be a problem. I need to get some sunglasses. _Haou thought. Yes, sunglasses would be nice. Haou made a note to use some of Judai's money and buy some. After all, it's not lowly stealing if you are doing it from yourself. And Haou could never lower himself to something like stealing a couple of dollars. Defiling the power of darkness like that would not do; rather, he'd duel people into submission.

_The more people who see me, the more likely the Assassins will find out. And when they do, they could easily take advantage of it. The possibility they were the ones who caused this is present, but even so, they won't realize if it had worked._ Haou mulled over his thoughts and options.

_Maybe, if I can contact my other half long enough, I can get him to convince the others they were seeing things. Or I can let their own weak minds make up excuses. Those who do figure it out will be worthy of challenging me, or becoming part of my army in the future. _Haou gave a mental smirk. _A crucible, or test for those false things called 'friends'._

Meanwhile, Asuka was walk- stride- storming over to the Red Dorm. A heavy knock of doom came on the dorm room for Judai, Hayato, and Sho. Judai opened the door to an angry Asuka.

"Judai! What's the meaning of this! Was walking with me to your dorm really so bad you had to _dive into the woods _to avoid me!"

"Asuka-chan…"

"Don't Asuka-chan me! What's the meaning of this!?"

"Asuka- Judai has been sitting here, dueling with us, for the past hour." Hayato interjected.

Asuka's face fell. "But- I- he-" Then she relaxed, and remembered those cold, golden eyes that would kill, even if other looks couldn't. She understood what Manjoume wanted to talk about now, as he had only explained that he wanted to talk to her about something no one else would believe.

"Must have been one of your copycats. No wonder he would be scared of me. Since you guys are having such fun, I'll go visit some other people." Asuka said in a dejected voice.

Asuka closed the door, and walked over to Manjoume's room and knocked.

Most people would probably be wondering at this point why Yuki Judai wasn't worried or paying attention to Manjoume after Asuka's claim. Hayato was wondering the same thing.

"Judai, this is the second time an exact look alike of you has been seen, except for the personality, eye color, and lack of anyone else. Why are you brushing it off?"

"It's nothing to worry about, Hayato. If it was, Hane Kuriboh would tell me. Besides, Asuka never said anything about yellow eyes. It could just be a fan that has a good costume but messed up colored contacts or something."

"Judai, the only fan you have that would dress up like you doesn't look that good when he dresses up. And this is an island with no retail stores- where could someone get colored contacts?" Hayato asked.

"He could have improved his skills and ordered them. Ok! Let's Duel!"

Hayato sighed. There was no convincing Judai.

Manjoume got up at the knock. He opened the door, letting Asuka in.

"You wanted to talk about the other Judai with golden eyes?" she asked. Manjoume just stared.

"I saw him on the way here. Tomorrow, I'll research him. How serious do you think it is?"

"My Ojamas were scared of him. You've seen his eyes: if he wants to, he'll kill you. And the weird thing? You can't convince Judai that the look-alike exists." Manjoume recounted.

"I noticed it too. Do you think the look-alikes are connected?"

"More than just looking alike? Maybe. I won't know until I duel him."

Silence. Then:

"When will you challenge him to a duel?" asked Asuka in a soft, hushed voice.

"Next time I see him. Then we'll see what he's made of."

With a stronger voice, Asuka looked at him squarely in the eye. "Alright. But tell me when you duel him. I'll get everyone together in case this is an Assassin. That way we can corner and question him."

Manjoume just nodded. By a silent agreement, Asuka left right then.

Manjoume just bounced a ball on the wall for a while afterwards.

Night fell. Judai ate half as much food as normal, which made Manjoume, Sho, and Hayato suspicious. Haou caught some fish and cooked them in banana leaves. Asuka was moping slightly, due to Fubuki's condition and the mystery of the other Judai. Everyone but Haou went to sleep soon.

Haou was staying up, trying to get into the hall of mirrors, where Judai's mind connected with Haou's.

Haou concentrated and meditated. Relaxing, he delved to find the hall of mirrors. He did.

He looked through Judai's eyes. Haou was feeling drained and pushed away, however. _I need to make this quick. See if I have influence and can convince him that this is from his heart._

"Do not worry about the look-alike." Haou said. Then he retreated, and gasped.

_That actually took up energy. That _hurt. _This may be getting worse. I have to recombine us as soon as possible._

Looking up at the night sky and the stars, breathing in the slightly crisp air, Haou slept. Of course, not without his Evil Heroes standing guard.


	4. 4 3 2 1

**It's been a week. And I feel like multiple shoes will be chucked at me.**

**Anyway, there's this quote I heard recently that fits this somewhat well. Would have fit other chapters better, but aw well.**

_"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead" -Benjamin Franklin_

For Whom

A new dawn broke. Samejima was looking up a detective to help them hide the keys. Pharaoh was meowing. Judai was asleep still, and Haou was awake catching breakfast, planning his next moves.

They went into action the second Judai had started running, late for class, down the road to receive a detention in Daitokuji-sensei's class. When Judai was out of sight, Haou walked up to the dorm's door and opened it up.

He looked at the dorm and gave a mental grimace. The smallness and the dirtiness of this place would hold for now, but once Haou became a ruler, it would not work. However, Haou didn't come to make mental faces at the dorm. He came to do laundry.

Wearing a red uniform all day yesterday had made it dirty. In order to buy the sunglasses, Haou would need a nice, hot shower and a clean uniform. Otherwise people would get suspicious. That and- it's nice to be clean and smell nice. Taking a clean uniform and a towel, Haou went to the showers and washed his hair well, getting out any debris from the pond, dirt from the ground, and vegetation from the plants. After putting on the clean uniform, Haou washed all the dirty clothes together, and dried them as well. Taking a set of clean pajamas and the outfit he wore all yesterday with the appropriate underwear, Haou retrieved some of his other self's money.

Putting the clothes in a pack to look inconspicuous, Haou walked over to the only store on Duel Academy island. He went to the counter.

"Ah, Judai! What can I do for you?"

Haou had on a smile where he closed his eyes. _Act like Judai, act like Judai…_

"Well, Tometake-san, I'd like to get some sunglasses. It's hard to duel with the glare blocking your cards from sight!" Haou said as Judai-like as possible.

"Alright, Judai! Here's a pair that would look good on you!"

Haou put them on. They covered up his eyes, and were tinted so that the onlooker couldn't see the eyes, but the person wearing them could see just fine. Taking out the retrieved yen, he handed the right amount to Tometake-san.

"Ah, Judai, just for you, I'll give you a discount! Here, 10% off!" Haou was pleasantly surprised by receiving some yen back. Yen that could be used in a vending machine, or as bribery. Although Haou would be damned if he every dealt in something so petty and unworthy of his attention as bribery. Absolute defeat at his hands would surely make any quivering opponent bend to his will if they don't die.

Back to the present, however. Haou thanked Tometake-san, and left. He didn't know Asuka-san was watching him.

She had seen Judai walk into the store, but not any Judai. The one with the yellow eyes. She was planning to research him while most people in her grade had a study hall, but this was better. She followed him out of the store.

"So- you may not be Yuki Judai, but you sure act like him." Asuka said. Haou turned around.

"And you are showing intelligence enough to match up to the Queen of Oblisk Blue. Congratulations." Asuka bit the inside of her cheek at that remark, but continued on.

"So what are you? You look exactly like Judai but have the opposite personality, and your eyes are-" Asuka looked into them and took a breathe. "Well, they're cold and bright yellow."

"So what do you think I am?" asked Haou.

"What I think? That you are either an Assassin specially sent or that you're…"

"That I'm?"

"A twin, relative or clone of Yuki Judai."

Haou looked at her curiously. "How close and yet so far. It seems I underestimated you."

"What?" Asuka asks. "Why do you cling to the shadows, and not show yourself to Judai and hide from him?"

"If I show myself to him now, it will distract him."

Asuka thought for a moment. "Then surely you won't mind dueling Manjoume?"

"Why don't you challenge me yourself?"

"Because Manjoume told me that he wanted dibs on dueling you." Asuka said with a flat voice.

Haou hmphed. "Alright. I'll oblige him, but it's not like anybody can defeat me."

"I doubt it. Really, it's not like Kaiser or Judai will loose to you." Asuka said.

"Judai is weaker than me. And Kaiser's twisted ways will make it easier to win."

"Kaiser's twisted ways?! He's extremely moral and honorable!" Asuka practically shouted.

"He's also a twisted brother. He weakens his brother on purpose, using his power to diminish Sho's potential. Then he turns around and rescues his weak and defenseless brother when Camula comes around. He uses his words and power to make his little brother constantly in danger. I cannot respect a person like that. Either he utterly destroys Sho, or builds up Sho's potential. He could have made Sho a stronger duelist than many, or let Camula take his soul for victory. Your brother is probably the best out of Judai's group of friends, and he was an Assassin who threatened to kill Hayato and Sho. My mind is set and I don't flip flop. I know and get what I want."

Asuka looked at him in shock. The sad thing was his words ran true. Ryo wasn't a bad person. He was cold, but polite and good and fought the Assassins. Then she thought of his relation with Sho. Calling him a 'disappointment'- screwing him up so he was afraid of dueling sometimes, making it where Sho couldn't defeat Judai when he had the chance. But Kaiser wasn't like that, was he?

Then the next thought struck her.

"Wait- how do you know about all of that?"

Haou just smirked. "Tell Manjoume to meet me at the Volcano once the sun is surely set. You may come, but I don't want everyone to know of my existence just yet. And no, you don't need your Spirit Keys. I'd rather you keep them- or better yet, let me protect them. I could do it better than everyone else, after all."

Haou started to walk off.

"Wait! What are you?" Asuka asked.

Haou threw a glance back at her. "I am Yuki Judai. I am not Yuki Judai." Then he stalked off to wait for the next period when he could go into the library. Nobody would have a free period that knew him, the darkness would cover his eyes from those few that would enter, and he could check out a few books to read when the chance of discovery would be high.

Then the announcement came over the speakers. "Daitokuji-sensei, Yuki Judai, Tenjoin Asuka, and Manjoume Jun, please come to the Principal's office."

Haou made a mental smirk. Now this would be interesting. He used the patented Duel Academia technique of eavesdropping that all students seemed to possess. He listened as Samejima said there would be a detective to help them hide the Keys. Once he heard that information, Haou went to a position that made it easier to shadow them once they came out.

From their route, Haou figured that they were going to the Red Dorm. Haou used his refined technique to hear where Manjoume placed his key. Then he listened to Judai, placing it in a drawer and being walked in on. Haou mentally hit his head. He would have swallowed the key, or hid it in a spare duel disk. At least he would have hid it there, then later on hid it in the ceiling with no onlookers.

Dashing between the trees and behind the group, Haou followed them to the girl's Blue Dorm, and waited for them to come out. He saw them walking back into the school, and saw a janitor come in and spy the key going into the safe. Haou mentally gave a laugh at their stupidity. Three people walked in on the guys, and if he guessed right, then someone had walked on Asuka as well. Right when they were hiding keys. Anyone dumb enough to ignore that was- well, apparently Manjoume, Asuka, Daitokuji-sensei, Sho, Hayato, and his other self.

Following everyone but Asuka back to the Red Dorm, he leaned against the back side of the dorm while everyone but Manjoume went to their rooms.

"I thought you were more intelligent than to let an Assassin know where your key is." Haou commented.

"I am- I'm also not worried. The keys don't work unless an Assassin beats a key holder. So the Assassin or Assassins behind this plot don't understand how they work. However, if I lure the Assassin out by making them realize this, then I can beat the Assassin, meaning one less attempting to take the keys and become a distraction." Manjoume said.

"And how do you plan to figure out who the Assassin is?"

"I placed an Ojama in each place someone hid their key. Except my room, of course."

Haou nodded thoughtfully. So Manjoume was smarter than he thought. Then another thought came to him.

"How are you going to duel me, then?" Haou asked.

"Oh? So how did you know I want to duel you?" asked Manjoume.

"I ran into Asuka-san who told me. I asked her to inform you that the duel would be at sunset at the volcano."

Manjoume checked his PDA, and saw a text from Asuka informing him of just that.

"Can I fight you when I get my Ojamas back? Or tomorrow?" asked Manjoume. Haou nodded.

Haou nodded. "I'd rather my enemies get defeated than having to thrash you."

Manjoume gave him a look. "What makes you think you'll thrash me?"

"Hmph. We'll settle this in a duel tomorrow."

"Alright. If the Assassins steal the keys tonight."

"They most likely will. They are not nearly as intelligent or cruel as some of the other Assassins."

"You seem to be less of an Assassin then I previously thought."

"Oh? And why do you think that? Could I not be a person with vast resources of information and a good actor?" Haou asked.

"Why would an Assassin reprimand me for not hiding my key well, and telling me that those who saw the keys be hidden were Assassins?"

"A good actor would do that to gain trust. But still, save the Assassins for my interrogation if you can."

Manjoume looked at Haou strangely. "Why do you want to interrogate them? And what do I call you?"

"My reasons are mine alone. And my name is Haou." At that, he walked off into the woods, moving randomly to shake off anyone who might follow him. He went to sleep early, planning to wake up in a few hours.

* * *

***Ducks shoes that are sure to come* I promise the duel will come after we're finished with these Assassins! I promise!**


	5. Missing

**You guys probably want to kill me for being so late. Well, I have several million excuses. But the one I'll use today is this- I dislike writing duels. I had to research this one on Janime, so that's the main reason why. Also, I've had maybe an hour at most on the PC recently. But good news- next chapter is the long-waited duel between Manjoume and Haou! And I have someone who offered to help me with that duel! So it (hopefully) won't be as long to write as this one. Hopefully.**

**FYI: Haou's opinions are as best as I can get in character. Do not mistake them as my own.**

Stolen

He woke up at four in the morning. Haou went to the Red Dorm. All was quiet, with stars shining gently. Then Sho woke up, and found a hole in the dorm. Haou smirked mentally as Sho woke up Judai, and they went to Manjoume's not-so-locked room. What happened there is interesting.

Manjoume woke up, at first suspecting Judai, then Haou of taking his key hidden under the grimy sink. However, he remembered his conversation with Haou last night. He wasn't one likely to steal a key. Otherwise, he would have stolen it when it was on Manjoume earlier, or forced it off him. And Haou wouldn't have warned him about hiding the keys where others could see them.

As Manjoume was following Judai and Sho, he thought he saw a dark silhouette with the piercing, glowing yellow eyes.

"Wait a second. I need some air to wake up before I go in the same room with everyone else." Judai and Sho nodded, going into their room and closing the door.

"Haou. You've come to watch the duel?" Manjoume asked as the figure walked towards him.

"That. And I need to interrogate the Assassin."

"So you'll show everyone who you are?" Manjoume asked, confused.

"No. You'll ask them my questions."

"Why would I do that?" Manjoume asked.

Haou was tempted to yell, 'You should just be grateful I'm allowing you to do this mission', but decided it would be counterproductive. After all, he wasn't the king of this academia. To everyone, he was just a look-alike or Judai. So the answer he settled on was this;

"For every single question you get a good answer from the Assassin about, you get to ask a question from me."

"With a clear, straight answer?"

"Yes. During our duel tomorrow- or, seeing as it is after midnight, tonight."

Manjoume nodded. "Fair's fair. Do you have the questions?"

"Yes." Haou slipped them into Manjoume's pocket while walking towards him, and past him to a small place where he could see the duel without being seen.

* * *

Haou heard as all the clues were presented. He face palmed when he heard Manjoume dismiss the false finger nail, and told Asuka to clean up her room. When Daitokuji-sensei said he found muddy, crusty foot prints, Manjoume told him that no shoes are allowed in the Academy. Daitokuji-sensei replied that he cleaned them off. Haou's respect for everyone in that room just kept on falling.

When Judai said there was a hole in his room, Haou gritted his teeth. Did his other self have any pride? Letting Manjoume scold him for hurting that room, and tell Judai to call him 'sir'. It was only his steely self control that stopped Haou from bursting into that room to tell them who the culprits were.

Then the weirdest thing happened. Manjoume lashed out at four suspects, the nurse, security guard, random kid, and the janitor. Haou wanted to know what was in the water at this academy. Apparently idiocy was a plague.

He heard their introduction- for some reason, it reminded him of Team Rocket from Pokemon- and just waited.

They came out to duel, like planned. Haou watched from a secluded corner; in the darkness with his heavy aura, nobody could see him if he didn't want to be seen. In the daylight, such a trick would have made him stand out like the Black Magician Girl.

Manjoume challenged Don Zaloog, or otherwise known as Migure, to a duel. Migure started.

"I summon Golem Sentry in defense mode, and place a card face down." he said **(800/1800; Once per a turn, this card can change to face-down defense position. When this card is successfully reverse summoned, return 1 monster on your opponents field to their hand).**

Manjoume nodded. "Alright! It's my turn! I activate the magic card Devil's Sanctuary! This lets me summon Metal Devil Token to the field. I sacrifice the Metal Devil Token to summon Armed Dragon level 5. I activate its ability to summon Armed Dragon level 7." **(You know what- I'm just going to let you look up the card effects on Janime.) **Said Armed Dragon let out a roar, showing off its deep black and crimson shell.

At this, Judai applauded Manjoume's ability to summon Armed Dragon level 7 in one turn. Manjoume snapped back with a 'Manjoume-Sanda' to him. Haou looked as his other half let Manjoume tell him to call him sir.

Migure (or Don Zaloog) had the turn. He used the Pot of Greed to gain two cards, and played himself. Then he activated the magic card Mustering of the Dark Scorpion. Then he summoned all cards in his hand. Gorg the Strong, Meanae the Thorn, Cliff the Trap Remover, and Chick the Yellow. Activating the trap Dark Scorpion Combination, 2000 points of damage was dealt on Manjoume in direct attacks due to the card. Then came the special abilities of all the Black Scorpion cards, which landed his Armed Dragon level 7 and reverse card in the graveyard.

Using this opportunity, while Migure was overconfident over his win, Manjoume decided to ask one of Haou's questions.

"So, if the Assassins have duelists, why did they resort to cheap tricks?" Manjoume asked. Most of those who heard the question thought it was referring to the thievery of the keys. Our readers, Asuka, the Scorpions, and Haou knew better.

"Just a precaution. After all, the previous Assassins were all defeated by the same person." Migure said. One question Manjoume had gotten correctly answered.

"So what was the trick suppose to do?" Manjoume quizzed with a mental smirk becoming physical.

"Weaken your friendship, make sure that you guys didn't trust each other and would be easily taken down."

Sho had a puzzled look on his face. "All that from thievery?" he asked quietly. Asuka shook her head.

Manjoume had two questions down. "But in the end, it backfired, didn't it." Manjoume stated.

"Not really. After all, there is still a chance it will work."

"Doubt it." Manjoume muttered under his breath.

"Anyway, a normal person would have been devastated by that combo we just used on you." Migure stated.

"But Manjoume isn'ta normal person!" Judai said. Haou gave a small chuckle, at the comment and the irony of it. Manjoume told Judai to shut up with an extra edge, reserved just for Yuki Judai.

Using level modulation, Manjoume re-summoned his Armed Dragon level 7. Migure drew two cards, and placed two face down.

Having his turn come up, Manjoume used his Armed Dragon level 7's special ability, and discarded Despair from the Dark. Migure countered using Black Scorpion Retreat, having all of the monsters on his field go to his hand.

The look on Manjoume's face was priceless. Haou scoffed at Migure's mistake. Manjoume declared a direct attack after gaining his facial expression back, reducing Migure's life points to 1200. A trap was placed on the field.

Migure resummoned himself and reused the 'Mustering of the Dark Scorpion' again. When that happened, Manjoume activated his trap Ojama Trio. Preventing Migure from summoning all of the Black Scorpions, Migure chose Meanae to summon. Using the trap card 'Dark Scorpion- Tragedy of Love', Migure sacrificed Meanae to destroy Armed Dragon level 7. Migure declares a direct attack, and Manjoume's life points dropped to 600. Activating Migure (or Don Zaloog)'s ability, Manjoume was forced to discard the only card in his hand- Ojamagic. That let Manjoume take Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black into his hand. Haou watched with anticipation.

Drawing and activating Pot of Greed, Manjoume drew two cards. Using his newly drawn Fusion, he fused all three Ojamas into Ojama King. Then he used Ojamuscle.

Using that card, the three Ojama tokens on Migure's side of the field were destroyed, making his life points go down to 300 and giving Ojama King 3000 attack points. Ojama King's attack was declared, and Manjoume won. In a flash of light, the Black Scorpions were sealed in cards as the fate of those who loose a Shadow Game is.

Haou hid around the dorm while everyone went back to their perspective dorms. Daitokuji-sensei walked Asuka back to her dorm without a word spoken so she would be safe. Judai, Sho, and Hayato went to their dorm room. Haou intercepted Manjoume when everyone else was gone.

"I saw the duel." Haou said.

"Good. So it is agreed- three questions I got for you, three questions for me." Manjoume stated in a calm and calculating manner.

Haou nodded. He walked past Manjoume and into the woods. Manjoume frowned, and went to bed peacefully, with only the Ojamas there.

* * *

Smirking, Haou held the five Scorpions' cards. It would be a long and painful night for them. After all, the ruse with Manjoume let him have a chance to get them, and Haou wanted some very important questions answered. Torture is, after all, a highly effective method...


	6. The Buildup

**Hi! *dodges thrown ax* Hey! I have a reason for this being so late! Usual school work, crew and other stuff factored in, but mainly it was the duel. Yes; that much dueling filled me with dread. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I felt like posting it now. I hope you like it; and I will research and only use cards Manjoume and Haou have been shown to use. Manjoume will use a reasonable deck, and Haou will use the only deck he has. Unless I find out that there are more Evil Heroes actually on sale in the real world.**

**Now that I'm done blabbing; Don't own GX (although I wish I did), and enjoy!**

Questions

Manjoume woke up, staring at his rotten, slightly moldy ceiling. Slate eyes looked up through pitch black hair without really looking up. He was in the middle of thinking when he heard a knock on his door.

It creaked slowly to reveal Asuka in her impractical Oblisk Blue inform, hands folded and eyes twinkling with what looked like determination and worry.

"Manjoume- when is your duel with Haou?" she asked.

"After dark, near the top of the volcano." A grim tone laced Manjoume's voice. Then a lighter tone came when he said; "Good news is that I get to ask him three questions that he has to answer, straight forward."

Asuka clapped her hands together in joy. "So what questions are you going to ask him?"

A downcast look crossed Manjoume's face. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."

Asuka made a brisk nod. "We're going to work on those three questions, and we'll work on them for a while. We need to get them just right so we have the most information out of him."

"Alright. During study hall, we'll work on it. And maybe in class if we have spare time we'll work together." They looked at each other in mutual agreement. "Where you will say you are that time?" Manjoume asked.

"I'll lie and say that I'm studying dueling strategies in private." Asuka's face was solid and impassive as she said this.

"I won't even need to. I'll say I went for a walk if I need to." Manjoume's face was serious as well. They didn't know whether or not to trust Haou, and just looking in his eyes made them believe anyone who came would be dead.

As they said this, they forgot about the paper-thin walls of the Red Dorm. They also forgot that the beds of Judai's dorm were right next to the wall, which was shared with Manjoume's dorm. While Judai slept like a rock on his bottom bunk, somebody heard what they said. Somebody who wondered who Haou was, and would be at the volcano after the sun had set.

In school, everyone noticed the notes and whispers exchanged constantly between Manjoume and Asuka. Well, everyone except a sleeping Judai, but that's unimportant.

"Alright; the first question is What are you?" Manjoume stated in a low whisper.

"He could reply that he's human. But I think that's the best we'll get. Wait! What if we ask 'who or what are you'?" Asuka asked.

"That could work; I'll note it down on the paper."

That day, many boys had their hearts broken at the sight of the constant scribbling and note-exchanging between the two. Within an hour, rumor had it that the two were dating. Well, one rumor had it that they had been dating for months, another that Asuka was pregnant, and yet another saying black mail was involved, but all readers know none of those are true.

Manjoume and Asuka were oblivious to this; it was all for work. At lunch they sat in a secluded corner, just talking and discussing every bit of information they had about Haou. Previous conversations were recalled and puzzled over a million different ways.

It was an hour before the dueling time. They had their list of questions ready. All three golden questions to have maximum information from this mysterious figure. Manjoume reviewed over all his dueling stratagies and how to utilize his deck. They were ready, and set out on the dusty path to the dueling site, memories at hand. This was the second time Manjoume had walked this path to find a mystery duelist; Asuka had been teleported there by the Assassin who turned out to be her brother. A nervous silence accompanied them the whole journey, with the occasional leaves rustling, as if made by a hedgehog. The feel of death and a tomb pervaded. As the light diminished in a demonic red, orange, and yellow fading, shadows lengthened and the rainbow band became darker and had a sinister feel, as if it was laughing at their naï vety. Dusk shuffled along, gaining a golden hue. The sun was setting; but at the same time, a metaphorical sun felt like it was setting. Tension and determination was in the air around Manjoume as his deck was in the holder. The Ojamas, who had the worst sense of timing, seemed to have gained a good one as they weren't appearing right now.

As they walked up the terraces of ancient lava towards the mountain top, the air became more humid and hot. Panting slightly, they reach the edge.

"You have your three questions picked out?" asked Haou in an amused and cool manner.

"Of course. I would rather ask them while we duel." Manjoume replied. It had been agreed that they should look at Haou's deck to see what type of person he is first. Haou smirked. His golden eyes danced with amusement.

"Of course. You may go first."

Manjoume nodded.

He drew a card, and then repeated his opening combination from the night before. An Armed Dragon level 7 was what rewarded him for it with golden lights dancing to form him. Then Manjoume placed a face down.

Haou looked at Manjoume with a trace of disappointment. "I hoped you would have been smart enough to be more of a challenge…"

Haou summoned Burst Lady and Featherman. Manjoume felt he knew what was going to happen next; Flame Wingman. That is when the difference between Haou's deck and Judai's deck began to show.

"I use Dark Fusion to summon Evil Hero Inferno Wing! Then I equip Vicious Claw to my Inferno Wing" Haou stated in fact.

Manjoume looked calm, but inside was confused. He knew that Elemental Heroes could be fused two different ways, and that fusion cards could be used to have different results, but he had never heard of Evil Heroes or Dark Fusion. What unnerved him the most, however, was Haou's stature.

In every duel disk duel Manjoume had seen, both opponents had one leg back and the other forward, while they leaned over the duel disk. People drew with interesting hand motions, curved their back, and got into the game. Haou had a stiffness about him that put boards and metal sheets to shame.

He said little, had no apparent expression on his imposing face, and had perfect posture. He held his duel disk in a regal manner, and looked right into Manjoume's eyes. Black met gold, and Manjoume couldn't help but feel inferior under those eyes.

"I use my facedown; defusion!" Manjoume declared. The card popped up, but went to the graveyard. Manjoume raised an eyebrow at Haou, waiting for him to explain.

"When summoned by Dark Fusion, my monster is impervious to spell cards and effects. I still have another card to play, Manjoume" Haou said in his cool, condescending voice.


End file.
